C.Theme:Christ\u2019s Judgment on First Century Israel \u2013 \u201cBehold, He is coming with the
clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the
earth will mourn over Him.So it is to be.Amen\u201d (1:7).

1.Future or past?

a.Dispensationalists see this as a future turning of God to deal again with Israel as a

nation \u2013 fulfilling the seventieth week of Daniel.

b.We would agree that it details the Lord\u2019s dealings with Israel, and that it was future
from John\u2019s perspective, but it is past from ours.
(i)Revelation was directed to the seven churches, the seven churches being perhaps a

symbol of the complete church (1:4; chapters 2-3).

(ii)It was meant to get them ready for the tribulation, which was near, \u201cThe Revelationof Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things whichmust soon take place; and He sent and communicatedit by His angel to His bond-servant John\u201d (1:1).

2.Indications in the theme that these events were near for Israel.

a.Those who pierced Him will see Him.
(i)\u201cEvery eye\u201d most likely refers to \u201cthose who pierced Him.\u201d
(ii)The Greek wordkai, translated here \u201ceven,\u201d means in this case, \u201cthat is\u201d:\u201cevery

eye will see Him, that is those who pierced Him.\u201d

(iii)The Jews who were yet alive when Christ came in judgment would see His hand in
it and know it was the fulfillment of His words, \u201cTherefore, behold, I am sending
you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and
some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,
so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the
blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you
murdered between the temple and the altar.Truly I say to you, all these things will
come upon this generation.Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones
those who are sent to her!How often I wanted to gather your children together, the
way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.Behold, your
house is being left to you desolate!\u201d (Matt. 23:34-38).

b.All the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him.

(i)The word \u201ctribes\u201d here can refer the nations of the earth, but in Revelation it refersto the tribes of Israel.When John refers to the other races, he uses the terms \u201cnation,tribe, tongue and people\u201d (5:9; 7:9; 13:7; 14:6).

(ii)\u201cEarth\u201d (Greek:ge) can mean the whole inhabited earth, but it can also mean

\u201cland,\u201d the land of Israel.

(iii)Those who pierced Him will see Him and all the tribes of Israel shall mourn over

Him.

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(iv)Matthew 24 clearly refers to AD 70 and uses the same language, \u201cAnd then the
sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will
mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power
and great glory\u201d (v. 30).

c.Why would they mourn?

(i)The word in the Greek,kopt o, means to \u201cbeat one\u2019s breast as a strong expression of

grief or remorse; hence,mourn,l ament\u201d (Friberg).

(ii)This would not be a mourning of repentance, but of sorrow that God\u2019s judgment

has fallen on them for their murder of the Messiah.

(iii)The fact that Christ was coming on the clouds was a clear indicator that He was

coming in judgment against them.

d.Coming on the clouds:a symbol of judgment.

(i)David describes how the Lord came in judgment against Saul on his behalf, \u201cThen
the earth shook and quaked; and the foundations of the mountains were trembling
and were shaken, because He was angry.Smoke went up out of His nostrils, and fire
from His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it.He bowed the heavens also, and
came down with thick darkness under His feet.He rode upon a cherub and flew; and
He sped upon the wings of the wind.He made darkness His hiding place, His
canopy around Him, darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.From the
brightness before Him passed His thick clouds, hailstones and coals of fire.The
LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered His voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.He sent out His arrows, and scattered them, and
lightning flashes in abundance, and routed them.Then the channels of water
appeared, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at Your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils\u201d (Psalm 18:7-15).

(ii)The clouds are said to be God\u2019s chariot, \u201cBless the LORD, O my soul!O LORD
my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering
Yourself with light as with a cloak, stretching out heaven like at ent curtain.He lays
the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He
walks upon the wings of the wind; He makes the winds His messengers, flaming fire
His ministers\u201d (Psalm 104:1-4).

(iii)When He comes against a nation in judgment, He rides forth from heaven on the
clouds to do battle, \u201cThe oracle concerning Egypt.Behold, the LORD is riding on a
swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; the idols of Egypt will tremble at His
presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them\u201d (Isaiah 19:1).

(iv)In Revelation 1:7, the Lord Jesus is said to come against Israel on a cloud,

symbolizing His coming in judgment against them.

(v)This is precisely what Jesus told the high priest who was sitting in judgment over
Him that he would one day see, \u201cThe high priest stood up and said to Him, \u2018Do You
not answer?What is it that these men are testifying against You?\u2019But Jesus kept
silent.And the high priest said to Him, \u2018I adjure You by the living God, that You tell
us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.\u2019Jesus said to him, \u2018You have said it

yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the

right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven\u2019\u201d (Matt. 26:62-64).

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(vi)He would see the Lord\u2019s judgment against Israel in the Great Tribulation.

3.Indications that the Great Tribulation was focused on Judea.

a.Jesus warned His disciples regarding the Tribulation since it would be in their lifetime.
\u201cTherefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through
Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those
who are in Judea must flee to the mountains; whoever is on the housetop must not go
down to get the things out that are in his house.Whoever is in the field must not turn
back to get his cloak.But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing
babies in those days!But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a
Sabbath.For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the
beginning of the world until now, nor ever will\u201d (Matt. 24:16-21).

b.The generation that saw the ministry of Christ would not die until all these things hadhappened \u2013 it was God\u2019s judgment on them:\u201cNow learn the parable from the fig tree:when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know thatsummer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near,

right at the door.Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these

things take place\u201d (vv. 32-34).

c.Josephus tells us that 1,100,000 Jews died in this war with Rome.Jerusalem was
devastated; the Temple was destroyed; and the sacrificial system came to a definitive
end.

4.Indications in the NT that the Tribulation was near.

a.Peter said that the outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost was an indication that
they were in the last days, \u201cFor these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it isonly
the third hour of the day; but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:\u2018And
it shall be in the last days,\u2019 God says, \u2018That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all
mankind\u2019\u201d (Acts 2:15-17).

b.The beginning of Christ\u2019s ministry signaled the fulfillment of this prophecy, as
indicated by Daniel\u2019s 70 weeks, \u201cNow after John had been taken into custody, Jesus
came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and
the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel\u201d (Mark 1:14-15).

c.This is corroborated by the author to the Hebrews, \u201cGod, after He spoke long ago to the
fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has
spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He
made the world\u201d (1:1-2).Hebrews in particular was a plea for the Jewish believers to
flee from the ceremonial system, since it would soon be destroyed.

d.Peter tells his readers that there would be mockers in the last days that would ridicule
the coming of the Lord.He indicates that they were already doing this, showing that the
last days had already come, \u201cKnow this first of all, that in the last days mockers will
come witht hei r mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, \u2018Where is the
promise of His coming?Forever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it
was from the beginning of creation.\u2019For when they maintain this, it escapes their
notice that by the word of Godthe heavens existed long ago andthe earth was formed
out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being
flooded with water\u201d (2 Pet. 3:3-6).